Tonight’s diary entry will be a short one. I have to rest up for the team time trial.

The special shifter on my Orbea Orca – the little invention that the mechanics did for me – turned out to be a miracle. I got through the stage with a lot less pain in my wrist than I have had the last couple of days. And I’m feeling more confident about riding through to the end of this race.

Thursday is the team time trial at the Road Atlanta motor course. I’ve ridden team time trials before, actually quite a few. The one I did in the Tour de France was a lot longer distance 60 km (37 miles) compared to 16 km (10 miles). The most important thing in a team time trial is that you work together as a team and not as individuals. You really need to communicate well and have the strong guys pick up the slack for the less strong guys.

This team time trial is also a little bit different in that we don’t get to use all the same equipment that is normally used in a team time trial – special bikes, disk wheels, profile aero bars, etc. On Thursday, everyone in the race has to ride standard bikes and standard wheels. It’s also around a race track which I’m sure will draw some great crowds.

This stage will be crucial. Any team that has dreams of overall victory will need to put in a good ride there. My hope is that Team Type 1 can put in a good enough ride – my teammate, Moises Aldape, is in fifth overall – that we can keep him somewhere in contention.

–30–